Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area

Things to Do

The main attraction, the Devil's Sinkhole, is a National Natural Landmark that houses one of the state’s largest colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats. This enormous vertical cavern is thought to be the largest single-chamber cavern in Texas. The opening is a shaft approximately 50 feet wide that drops 140 feet into the cavern. Here, the shaft balloons out to a diameter of over 320 feet and reaches a total depth of over 350 feet. From late spring through early fall the sinkhole provides an amazing venue to witness over 3 million bats stream out into the evening sky.

Evening bat emergence tours, day tours to see the sinkhole, nature hikes, and even morning bat return flight tours bring visitors to the sinkhole and beyond to explore this unique piece of the Edwards Plateau. The 1,860-acre natural area is wild and mainly undeveloped. On your visit you can find remnants from the ranching past, trails for guided hikes, and two bird blinds for bird watching. At the sinkhole itself you can step out over the chasm onto the viewing platform and peer down into the depths below; the platform is wheelchair accessible. To protect this sensitive natural resource, visitors are not allowed to enter the sinkhole.

Ranger Programs

Access to the natural area begins by contacting the Devil's Sinkhole Society (830) 683-BATS (2287). This partner group provides various tours and visiting opportunities. Tours launch from the Rocksprings Visitor Center and are scheduled in advance; reservations are required. Check the calendar for upcoming events. Special tours can be arranged with advance notice if staff is available. Reservations are required.

Evening Bat Flight tours are being offered from Wednesdays through Sundays, through the end of October. Labor Day (Monday) will also be available for this popular tour. Adults $12, Seniors $10, Children 4 to 11 $6, Children under four are free. This unique resource is part of a natural system that can be affected by many factors such as changes in weather patterns and the availability of prey. While this extremely spectacular sight at times can be very predictable, we cannot guarantee the behavior of the colony or that an emergence will occur.

With its bat population surging strongly in summer, the natural area will be offering Morning Bat Return tours on selected days, see the calendar of events. These tours begin just before dawn at the Rocksprings Visitors Center and travel by convoy, to the famous cavern to watch the massive colony plunge back down into the depths of the sinkhole. Reservations are required. Tickets for the morning tour are $20 and $10 for children 11 and younger.

The Devil's Sinkhole Society also offers nature walks, birding outings, day tours to see the sinkhole, and motorcycle tours. These tours need to be arranged in advance but are usually available throughout the year. All tours begin at the Rocksprings Visitors Center on the Rocksprings town square.

The Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area operates in partnership with Kickapoo Cavern State Park, which offers picnic sites, camping, hiking, mountain biking, bird watching, cavern tours, and also has a popular bat cave with evening bat flight viewing in the summer.